Lawsuit aims to halt UFC White House spectacle
Key takeaways
- Plaintiffs in a federal civil lawsuit filed late Saturday are attempting to halt next Sunday's UFC Freedom 250 card on the South Lawn of the White House.
- An emergency application for a preliminary injunction to stop the event was filed early Sunday morning in the same court.
- "We think that this is a profound misuse of our sacred national monuments for private gain," said Brendan Ballou, the lead attorney for the Public Integrity Project.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Plaintiffs in a federal civil lawsuit filed late Saturday are attempting to halt next Sunday's UFC Freedom 250 card on the South Lawn of the White House.
The suit, filed by the Public Integrity Project in District of Columbia federal court, alleges that the Department of Interior and the National Park Service violated federal law by organizing a private sporting event on public property and failing to obtain congressional approval for the event's multiple construction sites. An emergency application for a preliminary injunction to stop the event was filed early Sunday morning in the same court.
The suit claims violations of park service regulations by allowing the event to occur, that the construction of the UFC's claw stadium structure on the South Lawn needed congressional authorization because it is federal parkland, and that there was not an environmental review "before undertaking 'major federal action' significantly affecting the quality of the human environment."